Oh Christmas mulch
School science fairs need judges with science and engineering degrees, especially those trained in the biological sciences. Judges needed for science fairs
School fairs are scheduled for late January. District fairs in the Windward and Leeward districts and the Hawaii Association for Independent Schools are being held in February. Judging for the State Science Fair begins March 28.
First-time judges are urged to attend a workshop Jan. 13 in the Marine Science Building at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.
To make a reservation for the workshop, call 956-7930.
6 of 7 Xerox victims took multiple bullets
Six of the seven men killed in the Xerox shootings two months ago were shot multiple times, according to autopsy reports from the city medical examiner's office.The seven men sustained 25 gunshots wound -- two of the victims were shot five times, three were hit four times, one was shot twice and one was hit with one bullet.
The victim who was shot once is believed to be the first man shot by alleged gunman and co-worker Byran Uyesugi. He was seated at a desk when Uyesugi allegedly shot him.
Police said 28 9mm casings and an empty magazine were recovered at the scene. A Glock 9mm handgun was later recovered.
Uyesugi, 40, is undergoing a mental evaluation. His trial is set to begin May 15. If convicted of first-degree murder, Uyesugi faces a life term without parole.
New Year's fireworks took air to unsafe level
Particles in the air at 1 a.m. New Year's Day were 15 times greater than state and federal safety levels for a 24-hour period, according to Oceanit Laboratories, an environmental engineering firm.The company set up dust monitors on Pohahawai Place in Ewa, Iuiu Street in Kahaluu and the Mid-Pacific Institute in Manoa to measure the smoke from fireworks.
Ewa registered the highest levels, 2,307.5 micrograms per cubic meter during a one-hour period New Year's Day. In Kahaluu between midnight and 1 a.m. there were 381.7 micrograms per cubic meter, and in Manoa, the greatest concentration of smoke was at 1 a.m., topping at 668 micrograms per cubic meter.
Federal and state standards limit particles in the air to 150 micrograms per cubic meter averaged over a 24-hour period. Ewa averaged 348 micrograms per cubic meter of air on New Year's Day, the company said.
Passenger is arrested in flight disruption
WAILUKU -- An airline flight from Kona to Honolulu was diverted to Maui yesterday after a man allegedly failed to comply with a flight attendant's orders.Aloha Airlines Flight 279 left Kona at about 4:30 p.m. and was en route to Oahu when the man threatened and swore at passengers, Maui Police Sgt. Barry Aoki said.
Steven Jondreau, 45, of New York City has been charged with interference with a flight crew. Jondreau, a self-employed computer consultant, was being held this morning by Maui police until FBI agents take him to Oahu to appear before a federal magistrate.
Woman hurt critically in bike-truck collision
WAILUKU -- A 25-year-old west Maui woman remained in critical condition this morning at Maui Memorial Hospital, where she was taken yesterday after the bicycle she was riding collided with a trailer truck.Amy Carlson suffered internal injuries, including a collapsed lung, in the crash on Honoapiilani Highway on the Lahaina side of Honolua Bay at 7:43 a.m. yesterday, Police Sgt. Barry Aoki said.
Repeat drunken driver? Confiscate the vehicle
HILO -- Big Island police Chief Wayne Carvalho is calling for a law that would let police confiscate the vehicles of repeat drunken drivers. The law already exists in other jurisdictions, he noted.Carvalho's comment came as police released statistics showing a record 1,207 drunken driver arrests on the Big Island in 1999, many of them repeat offenders. The number was a 14 percent increase over the 1,056 arrested in 1998, which was also a record year.
Police found that the licenses of many drivers had been revoked, but they were driving anyway, Carvalho said.
"Perhaps," he said, "it's time to enact legislation that follows the practice of other jurisdictions and confiscate the vehicles of repeat drunk driving offenders."
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Three teens hospitalized after Ala Moana car race
Three teen-agers were hospitalized this morning after their car slammed into a tree fronting Restaurant Row.The boys were in a white 1991 Dodge Stealth that was racing another car going Ewa bound along Ala Moana, witnesses reported to police.
The Dodge Stealth lost control near the Comp USA store at South Street, jumped the curb fronting Restaurant Row and slammed into the tree at 3:47 a.m., police said.
The three boys were taken to Queen's Hospital where two remained in fair condition and one in guarded condition this morning.
Three Ewa-bound lanes of Ala Moana and a portion of South Street were closed for about two hours while traffic investigators examined the scene.
New Year's Eve shooting suspects turns himself in
One of two suspected gunmen in a fatal New Year's Eve shooting in Kapalama surrendered yesterday.The 18-year-old Kalihi man, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself in at the main police station shortly before 3 p.m., said acting homicide Lt. Anderson Hee.
The man was booked for second-degree murder.
Richard Tambua, 22, was killed in the 10:15 p.m. shooting at North King Street and Wolter Lane during a confrontation between two groups affiliated with rival gangs, police said.
Another man, 24, who was with Tambua, is recovering from a gunshot wound to the stomach. His condition has improved from critical to stable, says Hee.
At about noon Monday, police recovered a handgun that was reportedly tossed into Kapalama Stream after the shooting.
Three men, allegedly with the shooting group, were arrested over the weekend but released pending further investigation. Police arrested another 23-year-old man Monday. He was still in custody this morning but had not been charged.
Student, 14, arrested in death threat to teacher
A 14-year-old Farrington High School student was arrested yesterday for allegedly threatening a teacher with death.The boy threatened the 25-year-old teacher during class on Monday, according to police. He was booked yesterday for first-degree terroristic threatening.
